Free Republic

PRAGUE- The first group of Czech reconnaissance troops, who left the military air base in Prerov, north Moravia, for Afghanistan on Thursday under conditions of top secrecy, are already there, Defence Ministry spokesman Ladislav Sticha told Nova television. "I can confirm that Czech soldiers assigned for the Enduring Freedom operation have already arrived at the place of the operation and are fulfilling tasks there," Sticha said on Nova. The soldiers, the first combat forces deployed by the Czech military since World War Two, are to assist the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom in searching the Afghan mountains for members of the...

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) has voted for: Authorization for use of force against Iraq (2002, Iraq War - Op. Iraqi Freedom) Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Dept. of H.S.) Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001 Motion to dismiss impeachment of Clinton (motion failed, nonbinding vote) Authorization for air operations & missile strikes against Yugoslavia (Serbia) Welfare reform NAFTA Resolution supporting Pres. George H.W. Bush's actions against Iraq in Gulf War Kerry has voted against: Supplemental funding for Iraq/Afganistan military & humanitarian efforts (2003) Medicare Prescription Drug & Modernization Act of 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003 Jobs and Growth...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is taking a fresh look at its plans to turn over power in Iraq by June 30.</p> <p>While that remains the deadline, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday it's too early to tell whether it will have to be changed.</p>

Contrary to the fearful voice of Associate Justice Robert Jackson dissenting in Korematsu vs. United States (1944), emergency powers asserted by presidents in times of war have not turned into loaded guns lying around for misuse by any zealous official who claims an urgent need. History speaks otherwise. During the Civil War, for instance, President Abraham Lincoln extraconstitutionally summoned an army, expended unappropriated funds, unilaterally suspended the writ of habeas corpus, and suppressed speech friendly to the Confederacy. Congress belatedly ratified Lincoln's legislative usurpations. They were not repeated during the war. Neither did they establish presidential war principles that crept...

National Guard Soldiers with the 124th Regional Training Institute from Colchester, Vt., are here to "train the trainers" and teach Afghan National Army members how to become better soldiers. The unit has been here since June in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, training the ANA. Their main focus is getting ANA trainers to take over courses and ultimately train their own people. "Our main role is to aid in the establishment of the Afghan National Army and to mentor and guide the Afghan officers and (noncommissioned officers)," said Capt. Scott R. Cadieux from Georgia, Vt. "We're here to help make...

George W. Bush is coming to the Hanover Marriott on Rt. 10 in East Hanover, NJ (Morris County) on Monday, December 1, at 5:30 P.M. His Fraudulency will be attending another $2,000 per person fund raiser, and we should give him a welcome he won't soon forget.

Another FReeper asked me to post this, which he found on Audi world forum, with permission of the author, who is an independent contractor working in Iraq. It's a nice Thanksgiving story and tells the true story about the job our armed forces and those who lead them have done in Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------- "Thoughts on being here after 2 months (a brief)" So here I am on my final 2 weeks before I leave for America. There was much to learn as well as much to digest here in the dynamic culture that seperates the Iraqi's from the rest of...

Preamble -- October 18 marks my first shipment of care packages to a Military service-person overseas (specifically to Baghdad). I was going to do it since about summer, but hesitated...partly because I wasn't sure how to proceed. Thus, I now present a (Very) Quick Guide to the sending of care packages. Point #1: Timing IS EVERYTHINGKeep these DEADLINE dates in mind (from the US Navy website at this URL: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/questions/holidaymail.html The United States Navy Holiday mailing &#8212; 2003 The Naval Supply Systems Command's Postal Policy Division, in cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service and military postal officials from all of...

U.S. Military Spokeswoman Denies Saddam Is in Hometown By Katarina Kratovac Associated Press Writer Published: Oct 14, 2003 TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. Army spokeswoman said Tuesday the military had no reports of Saddam Hussein hiding in his hometown of Tikrit in northern Iraq, countering a statement by an Army officer the previous day that the ousted Iraqi leader was recently in the region. "We do not have intelligence that he is and has been specifically in Tikrit," said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, which controls a large swathe of the country's north. "Because if...

US Forces in Iraq Captured No. 3 Figure in Ansar Al-Islam Terror Group By Robert Burns The Associated Press Published: Oct 14, 2003 WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. forces in Iraq have captured a senior member of Ansar al-Islam, an extremist group suspected of having ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday. The capture of Aso Hawleri late last week in the northern city of Mosul has not been publicly announced. He was taken into custody by soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, said the defense official, who discussed the matter on condition of...

The new Iraqi democrat: aged 27 and femaleBy Philip Sherwell(Filed: 28/09/2003) At the age of six, Khairiya Hatim became one of Saddam Hussein's youngest political prisoners, jailed with her whole family for four years in a desert camp for their allegiance to a banned opposition party. Twenty-one years later, she is one of the faces of the new Iraq, a town councillor in a country where unmarried young women normally play little part in public life.Khairiya is one of four members chosen by her al-Hamzawi tribe to represent them on the new local authority in Balad, a dusty town 50...

N.J. native faced danger regularly Killed in Afghanistan, the Navy SEAL was part of the Iraq team that rescued POW Jessica Lynch. By Maureen Graham and Troy Graham, Inquirer Staff Writers By all accounts, Atco native David M. Tapper's SEAL team was an elite unit, even for the rarified world of military special operations. Often called upon to conduct the most harrowing missions, Tapper took part in the April rescue of wounded POW Jessica Lynch, then helped recover the bodies of nine American soldiers buried near the Iraqi hospital where she was held, according to friends and the Tapper family....

Ever since the Iraq war began, Internet jokesters have been circulating parody images mocking Saddam Hussein in every conceivable form. Now the U.S. military is getting in on the act. As part of a new psychological warfare campaign, U.S. troops are planning to plaster walls and billboards in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit with a series of spoof images lifted from the Web depicting the ousted dictator as Zsa Zsa Gabor, , Elvis, and other celebrities. It's not clear how this unusual tactic will aid the hunt for Saddam, but when the most promising search leads are coming from Google, it...

Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 7:51 PM Subject: From Iraq: Message to the Troops Not a joke. Long but gives a different and informative viewpoint: In a message dated 8/4/03 9:27:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, XXXXXXXXXX writes: This is from an Army special operations officer written less than a week ago. I would like to see it passed around. Straight from the horse's mouth. Sanitized slightly to protect the innocent. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ Tuesday, 01 Jul 2003, Hey Guys, sorry it's been so long since I've sent anything but a...

Though major hostilities have ended in Iraq, blood is still needed to support those who remain and those engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition to supporting the needs of military members and their families at home, the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) is responsible for supplying blood to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines deployed worldwide. Having enough blood in forward areas can make the difference between life and death for those injured in the line of duty. The ASBP needs continuing donor support to make sure the men and women who serve receive the best care possible. Blood and...

WMDs and the Iraq warMona Charen (archive) June 24, 2003 | Print | SendThere is a camp of Iraq War cheerleaders who say that whether or not we find out what became of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction is irrelevant. The war was such a smashing success, they urge, that objections about WMDs are mere footnotes. This is too pat. The case the administration made (as did many of us who supported the war) rested upon many factors, including: the regime's treachery; aggression toward its neighbors; hatred for the United States; support for global terrorists; internal barbarism; and mass murder...

PALMDALE - Two "weekend warriors" who suddenly found themselves serving in Iraq took time out Friday to thank students from Hillview Middle School for sending them 300 pounds of love. Four boxes loaded with everything from flea collars and toothpaste to batteries and handheld video games eventually caught up with the activated U.S. Marine reservists, who shared them with their fellow Marines. Students in Linda McGuire's eighth-grade history classroom listened Friday to Gunnery Sgt. Louis Kocina of Palmdale and Sgt. Michael Yates give their accounts of the three months they spent in Iraq. The Marines were selected for "adoption" by...

A Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 74 people, most of them Spanish military personnel serving in Afghanistan, crashed early Monday in northwest Turkey, Turkish news reports said. The plane went down near the mountain town of Macka about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the Black Sea port of Trabzon, where the plane had been scheduled to make a refueling stop, private NTV television said, quoting unnamed Turkish aviation officials.

OK, let's combine into a single thread(easier to bookmark) all our favorite images of the stupid anti-war protests. Ironic or altered, all are welcome. Here's a few to start: On the other hand... This one actually was pretty good...

Frank Wright of Lanesboro, Minn., marches with other protesters in rural Harmony, Minn., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003, holding a sign reading 'What Would Mr. Roberts Do?' Wright had the perfect idea: Use a beloved television character to make his point about a potential war with Iraq. The only problem was that he meant to write 'Mr. Rogers,' he explained 'Perhaps I don't watch enough TV.' (AP Photo/Janet Hostetter)